The Stallions, the No. 1 seed out of the Coastal Plains Conference, finishes 11-9-2. Raleigh Charter (20-1), the top seed out of the Carolina 12 Conference, will play for the state title against the winner of the Lake Norman Charter-Hendersonville match.

The score was tied 2-2 at halftime and 3-3 before Nichols’ goal off an assist from Grace Nipp.

“I actually thought we played one of our better matches of the year,” SWO coach John Sweeney said. “Raleigh Charter is a terrific team. I don’t think that there’s much more to say than that. I thought we played well enough to win.

“A few lapses here and there, a few missed chances for us, but that’s the name of the game. It’s about focus and it’s about finishing. Obviously, I’d love if it were going to be playing next weekend (in the state finals), but they certainly are good enough to say they deserve to be there as well.”

The Stallions, the No. 1 seed out of the Coastal Plains Conference, finishes 11-9-2. Raleigh Charter (20-1), the top seed out of the Carolina 12 Conference, will play for the state title against the winner of the Lake Norman Charter-Hendersonville match.

The score was tied 2-2 at halftime and 3-3 before Nichols’ goal off an assist from Grace Nipp.

“I actually thought we played one of our better matches of the year,” SWO coach John Sweeney said. “Raleigh Charter is a terrific team. I don’t think that there’s much more to say than that. I thought we played well enough to win.

“A few lapses here and there, a few missed chances for us, but that’s the name of the game. It’s about focus and it’s about finishing. Obviously, I’d love if it were going to be playing next weekend (in the state finals), but they certainly are good enough to say they deserve to be there as well.”

Dixon 4, North Duplin 2: Dixon is making another deep run in the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs.

Senior catcher Zack Sicknick drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth inning and Dixon added an insurance run in the seventh to slip past North Duplin in the third round of the state playoffs in Mount Olive.

“You try to play your best baseball come playoff time,” said assistant coach Nick Raynor, speaking for head coach Jack Brown, who declined comment. “We feel like we’re clicking on all cylinders here.”

Dixon (17-9), the No. 3 seed from the Coastal Plains Conference, travels to Tri-County Conference No. 1 seed Midway (23-3) on Tuesday in the East Regional semifinal. North Duplin, the No. 1 seed out of the Carolina Conference, finished 17-7.

Cameron Greeley walked and went to second on a grounder before scoring on a single to left field by Sicknick, who was 3 for 4 with a double that helped key a two-run first inning that gave the Bulldogs an early lead.

North Duplin tied it in the third before Dixon scored late to win.

Tyler Ross was 2 for 2 for the Bulldogs with an RBI-triple in the seventh for a 4-2 lead.

“That was big,” Raynor said. “It gave us some breathing room.”

The Bulldogs also got a complete game four-hitter from ace J.P. Padgett (5-2), who struck out 13 and walked one while also hitting a batter. Padgett finished the game with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, including striking out the final two hitters.

“J.P. seems to really be hitting his stride come playoff time,” Raynor said. “He’s pitched his best games all year in the two games he’s started in the playoffs.”

West Brunswick 2, Jacksonville 1: Cole Josselyn scored on an error with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning on a hard-hit grounder by Markel Jones as West Brunswick slipped past Jacksonville in the third round of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs.

The Trojans (20-4) scored in the first to grab an early 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals, who finished 15-9-1, tied it in the fifth and looked headed for more with the bases loaded and just one out. But West Brunswick ace Landon Tilley (7-1) came on in relief to kill the rally, getting a strikeout and a pop fly.

JHS didn’t have a runner in scoring position in the final two innings.

Josselyn walked after facing a 2-2 count against Blake Heatherly and went to second on a sacrifice bunt before Jones’ grounder. Right fielder Logan Staup, who threw out a runner at home to end the sixth, scrambled to retrieve the ball and just missed throwing out Josselyn at the plate.

“We came up just about a half a step short,” JHS coach David Fleischer said. “It was really a tough loss. Their pitchers did a great job. They kept us in check. We put the ball in play. We just didn’t hit the ball hard. Neither did they.

“We just made a couple errors that cost us, and we didn’t take advantage of opportunities when we had them. … Our whole team played awesome. We just came out on the short end of the stick. It was a well-played ballgame.”